THE VERSE
In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.~Judges 21:25
THE THOUGHT
The damning indictment against Israel here could just as well be said of our own day and age. "Everyone did what was right in his own eyes." The humorous and heartbreaking irony of postmodernism is that what we thought was new, fresh, and liberating turned out to be a shiny repackaging of an age-old lie: that I can determine what is right for myself. From Adam and Eve in the garden, to Israel in the time of the Judges, to the stories on the morning news, to our own hearts, we see again and again that everyone does what is right in their own eyes.Sin, it turns out, often is not what we think is wrong, but what we think is right. Most people don't go out looking for ways to be bad in their own eyes; instead, we live unconscious of the Creator and do what is right in our own eyes. We lie because we can justify it at the time and because it furthers our own ends and helps us; we steal because we want what we don't have; we erupt in anger when things don't go our own way. In every instance of sin, we usually aren't choosing what we think of as "wrong." Instead, we are choosing in that moment to redefine "right" as what is good for us.
The Bible says that attempting to redefine reality in this way is foolish. "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes," Proverbs says. Instead of constructing our own rickety morality, we must endeavor every moment to submit to God's version of reality (the only version that is actually real). We must humble ourselves to accept His Word as our guide of conduct, and with the Holy Spirit's help fight against every temptation to replace His truth with our own.
THE PRAYER
Father, Forgive us for doing what is right in our own eyes, for exchanging the truth about God for a lie, for departing from You and building a morality in our own likeness. Forgive us for our arrogance in becoming judges in Your place and declaring what is right and wrong without any reference to Your holy Law. Oh Lord, change our hearts, and bring us back to Your truth. Help us, by Your Holy Spirit, to forsake our own ways and to come humble and broken to the cross, where we find once and for all the reality of holiness and grace.EXTENDED READING
Proverbs 12:15Isaiah 5:20-21
Isaiah 55:6-9
THE QUOTE
"When we behold the disfigurement of the Son of God, when we find ourselves appalled by His marred appearance, we need to reckon afresh that it is upon ourselves we gaze, for He stood in our place." ~John Calvin
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